Star Wars 1: Worlds Divided
by TheJediAvenger
Summary: Just two years after the Battle of Endor, the New Jedi Order is established and the New Republic is gaining support. However, Remnants of the Empire are still out in the galaxy, trying to gain power. Then, a stranger crosses paths with Luke Skywalker; and the Imperials find out. Even though the Light needs the being, the Dark is relentless, desiring the being for itself. AU; OC
1. Prologue

Prologue

Instability. Two years have passed since the Battle of Endor. The second Death Star was obliterated. Remnants of the Empire were scattered in specs across the whole galaxy. A new era was beginning to form in place of the once whole Empire and something needed to fill the void. With the help of Mon Mothma and the Rebel Alliance, Leia begins to go from planet to planet, requesting the worlds to help create a Senate like that before the rise of the Empire. It would be a new start for the galaxy's worlds to work together in a respectable manner.

While Leia was working through the political duties that the galaxy was going through, Luke Skywalker was busy maintaining the new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Inside the old Rebel base were several rooms already prepared for any new Force sensitive people that might join the establishment. On another level was a main room used for training and practice in both Force and lightsaber skills. The old hanger, where the fighters that attacked the first Death Star were held, was being used once again as a hanger for land, air and space craft of several different models.

By this time, several Force sensitive people had found their way to Yavin 4 to train in the ways of the Jedi. One was the most notable members was Kyle Katarn, a self-taught Force wielder that had defected to the Rebellion earlier in his life. Even though he struggled with the Dark Side, he thought that it would be best to surround himself with people who could keep him from going completely into darkness. Along with several other young and old students, the New Jedi Order was slowly on its way to becoming recognizable in the galaxy once more.

* * *

Even though he had the both the Rebel Alliance and the New Jedi Academy on his mind every moment of the day, Luke couldn't help but reminisce back to the days before he had gotten involved with the defeat of the Empire, before knowing his father was the infamous Darth Vader, before he had gotten involved with the Rebellion. He remembered helping out his Uncle Owen on the moisture farm and eating the meals that his Aunt Beru would make after he and his Uncle would come in from the desert land. The last thing he remembered of his childhood home was smoke rolling from the structures of the buildings. Everything there had been charred beyond recognition, including his Uncle and Aunt.

Suddenly, some voice in the back of his head threw out an idea that involved his old home.

_Maybe if you go back there, something there could help further the New Jedi Order._

Luke replies back to the voice in his thoughts. _What? What could possibly be there besides charred scrap and old memories? _

The voice pauses for a moment, but comes up with an answer the next. _An opportunity. If scavengers haven't been through the remains, there could be items there that could be sold to help further the Academy._

Luke shakes his head at the reply. _The odds that scavengers __**haven't**__ been through there are the same as Jawas not selling stolen droids._

The voice sends back a counter-argument to Luke. _Maybe so; but, another opportunity to further the progress of the Jedi Order might reveal itself to you._

Thinking about the last reply from the voice, Luke finally makes a decision about his old home. Coming out of his meditation, Luke stands up from the floor of his personal sleeping quarters and leaves the room in his usual black attire. In fact, the clothes he had on were the same ones he wore when he had faced his father and the Emperor on the second Death Star.

* * *

Heading down the hall and towards the hangar, Luke casually walks by several other students, who cheerfully greet him as they pass each other.

"Good morning, Master Skywalker." A female student spoke.

"Good morning, young one." Luke happily replies back.

Soon after, a teenager boy walks by him. "Greetings, Master Skywalker."

"Greetings." Luke answers back with a smile.

Soon, the hallway turns to the right and so does Luke, as he continues making his way towards his destination. Knowing his way, he starts zoning out everything. Sight. Sound. Touch. Luke was calm. Relaxed. At peace.

"Are you in there, Luke?"

Coming out of his day-dreaming state, Luke suddenly sees Kyle Katarn standing in front of him, waving his open hand in front of his face.

"I'm in my mind." The Jedi Master replies back to Kyle.

Kyle stops waving, since Luke's reply confirmed to Kyle that he was okay. "That's good. I was just a bit worried. When I said hi to you, you just walked by me without saying hi back. Plus, you had a blank look on your face as if you were seeing a vision or something."

Luke couldn't help but let a smirk appear on his face. "No, no visions. Don't know if that's good news or bad news."

"Well, no news is good news, to me at least."

Luke agrees with Kyle's remark and nods at him.

"So, anyway, what's your plan for today, Luke? Give some students some lessons? Meditate for hours on end?"

Luke knew that Kyle would keep throwing questions at him until he gave him an answer. So, he decides to save him the trouble of asking twenty questions.

"Actually, Kyle, I was making my way to the hangar." Luke continues walking in the direction of the hanger with Kyle walking right beside him, trying to pry more info from Skywalker.

"Oh, giving yourself a secret vacation, huh?", jokingly says Kyle.

However, the joke reminded Luke of where he was truly going. Not only was he going back to Tatooine, but he was going back to old memories, more bad than good.

"Actually, I'm leaving for Tatooine. Not exactly a vacation spot for anybody."

Kyle was a little bit surprised by Luke's statement. "Well, I won't pry you for more info. Your business is your business. I will, however, bid you well in whatever is you are going there for."

"Thanks, Kyle." Luke continues walking towards the hanger, but Kyle stops walking with him. He turns to go the opposite way, when he sudden hears Luke calling his name. "Hey, Kyle?" Kyle stops, turns around, and walks back to Luke, so that they wouldn't have to shout their conversation to each other.

Once he stops in front of Luke, he continues speaking to him. "Yes Luke?"

"I have a favor to ask you, that is, if you think you can handle it."

Kyle squints his eyes at Luke as if it would help him see what Luke was implying to him, but alas, he couldn't figure it out. "What favor are you asking me to do?"

Luke sighs. He already knew the reaction he would get from Kyle, but he believed that Katarn was ready to do it. "I would appreciate it...if you would teach my students some lessons while I'm gone."

Sure enough, Kyle reacts the way Luke thought he would. Kyle shifts on his feet and his eyes shift as well, while he tries to reply to Luke's favor. "Uh...teach. I don't know, Luke..."

"Kyle, you have come far from the Dark Side. All of the older members believe that you can teach some valuable lessons to the students."

Kyle looks straight at Luke and asks him point blank, "Do **you** think I can do it?"

Luke replies back immediately. "Kyle, I know you can do it."

A smirk appears on Katarn's face as he gives his hand for Luke to shake. "Alright." They sincerely shake hands, while Kyle adds on. "I'll do it, on one condition."

"What may that be?"

"Come back as soon as you possibly can. The kids here scare me."

Luke knew Kyle was being a bit sarcastic. It was a piece of his character that Luke loved to see. Releasing Kyle's hand, Luke continues walking towards the hanger while finishing his conversation with Katarn. "Well, in that case, I think I'll visit a couple of other star systems on the way back."

Kyle walks the opposite way, finishing the conversation by himself. "You would."

* * *

After strolling several more yards, Luke reaches the entrance to the hanger. He stops walking and glances around in the room for the Millennium Falcon. His eyes catch sight of the transportation on the other side of the hanger. He resumes walking over towards it, sensing that Han and Chewbacca were over near the spacecraft.

_Always have little issues, don't you sweetie. _Han's thoughts about the Falcon were the usual ones he had. Somehow, everyday, the Millennium Falcon always had a piece in her that wasn't at its best. However, a piece or two that was not working at its top performance usually didn't hinder the Falcon's capabilities.

Snapping the newly replaced wires where they belonged, Han removes his hand from them and gives Chewbacca, who was patiently sitting at the controls, the command to test out the new wires. "Alright Chewie, switch it on."

Chewie growls, telling Han "alright", as he flips one of the switches in front of him. The switchboard communicates with the ship, sending an electrical wave through the whole spacecraft. Han watches carefully at the switchboard that had the new wires connected to it. Sure enough, the switchboard lights up, indicating that the electrical pulses were moving through the new wires correctly. The smuggler smirks at the sight, then he speaks to his co-pilot again.

"They work, Chewie. You can switch it off now."

Chewie gives a growl of satisfaction as he reaches in front of him once more and switches the electrical back off. The Wookiee remains in his seat, waiting for Han to return back to the Falcon's controls. Since Han was on the top of the Falcon, he had to walk back over to where the opening into the Falcon was. Getting up from crouching, Han stands straight and turns to make his way towards the open hatch that led to the ship's interior. Before he takes the first step, Han spots Luke out of the corner of his left eye and turns his head to greet him.

"Hey, kid." Han walks over towards the edge of the Falcon, that was closest to Luke.

Luke walks up close to the Falcon and looks up at Han. "Hey, Han. Fixing the Falcon again, I see." The Jedi crosses his arms, waiting for the reply he would receive from Han.

"Oh, it wasn't really a fix." Han puts his hands on his hips as he takes the last two steps he could towards the edge of the Falcon and continues talking to Luke. "It was more of a 'necessary upgrade'."

Luke slightly shakes his head. He should have known Han wouldn't say he had to repair something. It was just the way Han's character was. "Anyways, I have a favor to ask of you, Han."

"Oh?" Han watches as Luke bends at the knees and uses the Force to jump onto the top of the Falcon. Han is now the one to slightly shake his head at Luke. "You could have went into the Falcon and used the stairs leading up here like a normal person."

Luke knows how to reply the question and does so, with a smirk appearing on his face. "You should know by now that I'm not normal. You aren't exactly the average person, either."

Han shrugs his shoulders. "You got me there. So, what sort of favor do you need, Luke?"

Sensing that only Han, Chewbacca and himself were the only ones in the hanger, Luke relaxes a bit and tells Han what he needs from his friend. "I would appreciate it if you could take me in the Falcon to Tatooine."

Han stares at Luke, running through the words he had heard from him. Something in Luke's voice was different when he spoke the favor; and Han heard it. However, he didn't want to ask him point blank. Instead he nods at Luke and accepts the task. "Yeah, sure. I can get you to Tatooine; but, why not just take one of the ships here in the hanger? Why the Falcon?"

Luke didn't want to say why he truly wanted Han's Falcon. He, instead, tells Han a different, yet true, reason that he wanted Han and his Falcon. "Even though I could use one of cruisers here, yours isn't as massive. I don't need a huge amount space for my trip. Your Falcon is sufficient for me. Also, I can just sit back and relax on my way there since I personally know that the pilot of the Falcon won't let me do any of the work in flying it.

"You darn right you aren't flying my Falcon." Moving past Luke, Han walks towards the open hatch with a grin on his face. "Whenever you're ready, we will leave. Chewie and I will be at the controls."

Luke nods to himself, thinking if he should gather anything before leaving. "I'll only be a couple of minutes." Using the Force once more, Luke walks off the side of the Falcon and lands feet first on the floor of the hanger. Something in the back of his mind told him that he should take a couple extra things, just in case something unexpected were to happen. Luke walks out of the hanger and makes his way back to his room to gather some extra items.

* * *

While waiting for Luke to return, Han makes his way to the Falcon's controls and sits down in his pilot's seat. Chewie, who was already sitting in his co-pilot's seat, notices how Han sat down. Instead of showing the least bit of enjoyment that he had replaced the wires successfully, Han's stare makes Chewbacca infer that the conversation Han had with Luke was not a usual one.

"Gggggrrrraaaaahhhhhh?"

"Luke asked if I would fly him to Tatooine." Han continues to stare blankly out of the Falcon, knowing full well Chewie would continue asking questions.

"Rrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhgggggg?"

"His excuse to me was that the Falcon wasn't massive in space and that he knows that I won't let him fly the Falcon, which gives Luke a break from piloting all the way to Tatooine; but...something tells me there is a different reason he wanted me to fly him to Tatooine in the Falcon."

"Hhhhhrraaghhhh mmmmrrraaaarrrrrr?"

"No, I didn't. I didn't want to pry on him. Remember what I told you what happened to his family there? Luke told Leia about the ordeal when he was explaining to her how he managed to get to her and the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4." Han starts looking the controls in front of him instead of staring blankly out the Falcon. "Leia then told me, which I told you. Maybe, Luke wants someone he knows to come with him."

Chewie growls in agreement, which pulls Han out of his fixed gaze. Repositioning himself in his seat, he notes the time that had elapsed and decides to start preparing the Falcon for flight. "Let's start preparing for our trip to Tatooine, Chewie. Luke will be back any moment."

Hearing Han's statement, Chewie helps Han in preparing the Falcon for its trip to Tatooine. It didn't take but a couple of minutes, since the two of them had worked together for a long time. When they piloted the Millennium Falcon together, they were of one mind. They could sometimes do something before the other one said it.

As soon as they completed the last item on their mental checklist, Luke returns and boards the Falcon, walking towards the control room where Han and Chewbacca were already at.

"I'm back and ready when you are." Luke sits in the seat that was behind Chewbacca's chair, letting Han and Chewbacca do what they did best: flying the Millennium Falcon.

Han speaks to Luke. "Well, Chewie and I just finished preparing the Falcon for flight. So, away we go." Chewie howls in agreement and starts using the same controls that he always uses to takeoff. Han does his fair share and uses the controls in front of him to aid his counterpart in lifting the Falcon from the hanger floor.

In no time at all, the Falcon lifts itself from the hanger floor. Han uses the controls to guide the Falcon forward. Since the Falcon had landed near the opening of the hanger, it was a straight shot out of the place. The Falcon is soon out of the hanger, allowing Han and Chewie to slowly start ascending the ship into the atmosphere.

Once the trip through the atmosphere is completed, Han slightly leans back and to his left, flipping a switch that would give the coordinates for the route that needed to be taken in hyperspace. The navi-computer gives the coordinates and the ship follows the instructions exactly. The ship positions itself in space, awaiting for its pilot to activate it. Han grabs hold of the switch in front of him with his right hand and gently pulls it down.

The hyperdrive whines as it begins to accelerate the Falcon at an extremely rapid rate. The three beings aboard watch as all the stars, they could see, stretch in length, creating an array of different shades of blue. The Falcon leaves the area of Yavin and takes flight in hyperspace. It's next destination was the desert planet known as Tatooine.


	2. Bad Memories Lost Hope

**Yeah! Another chapter is done! This one had FEELS in it. Hope I wrote this right. Not sure how good I am writing feels. Let me know how I did! Next chapter and the chapter after, some incoming plot and unknown plot twists will be going down! **

**On another note, i want to update all of you on how far the chapters are coming along and also ask questions and also answer questions! So I have a Facebook and Twitter (which I call Twitface together lol). So follow one or both and you can have more updates and question/answers/comments and suggestions for these stories!**

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**~TheJediAvenger~**

* * *

Bad Memories; Lost Hope

The non-stop trip to Tatooine in the Millennium Falcon was completely silent, except for the sounds that the Falcon was creating. Luke had not spoken another word to Han since they left. Luke didn't even greet Chewbacca when he saw him. Chewbacca wanted to ask Luke if he would be alright, but changed his mind about it. He didn't want to put more pressure on Luke than he already had. The situation was awkward and it stayed that way until they got out of hyperspace. Exiting from hyperspace, the Falcon continues down to the surface, under the guiding influence of Han and Chewie.

In no time at all, the Falcon docked in Mos Eisley, Docking Bay 94. Luke was the first out of the Falcon, leaving Han and Chewie still sitting in their seats.

"Chewie, you can stay with the ship or come. The decision is yours." Han informs his co-pilot and waits for his answer.

The Wookiee calmly growls his replies, saying that he would stay with the ship, just in case Imperial Forces were still secretly monitoring the planet.

Han acknowledges all that Chewie said. "Alright." Han quickly glances through the open doorway that Luke had walked out of, then turns back to Chewie. "I don't know roughly when we will be back, though. It may be a few hours or it may be a few days." Chewie howls, giving Han the suggestion of not to rush back and to give Luke as much time as he needed to sort out what he need to on Tatooine. "Yeah. I won't make him rush through this, if he doesn't want to." Rising from his seat, Han starts walking towards the exit of the Falcon. "We'll see you later, Chewie." Chewbacca growls his "see you later" back at Han. Without looking back behind him, Chewie listens as Han's footsteps slowly fade away in the distance.

Once Luke had left the Falcon, he had the sudden urge to stop walking towards Docking Bay 94's exit. His old memories started flooding his thoughts. Every good one that crossed his mind would cause him to involuntarily smirk or chuckle at the memory. However, one bad memory kept jarring its way into the fun-filled times that Luke had experienced on Tatooine. Skywalker glances at the bay's exit then looks blankly down at the ground. He was getting second thoughts about being here, heck, even thinking about coming here! Luke mumbles at himself. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Kid, this is nothing compared to the bad ideas I have had, myself." Han's voice made Luke slightly jump. Looking over to his right, he politely asks Han to not sneak up behind him again.

"Don't do that, Han!"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me like that. I can literally feel adrenaline coursing through my body, now."

Han jokingly throws his hands up, surrendering to his friend. "Alright, alright. Next time I'll put in some effort to stomp when I walk up behind you."

Luke is quickly pulled from his fears of coming back to Tatooine when he picks up on Han's usual sarcasm. He starts to chuckle, which contagiously spreads to Han. Then, the chuckles build into full loud laughter from both of them until they finally bring it under control. Suddenly, Han thinks of another thing that would make Luke loosen up about coming back to Tatooine.

Putting a hand on Luke's shoulder, Han throws out a very true fact about where they **exactly** landed the Falcon. "By the way, Luke, do you recognize the docking bay we are in?"

Luke quickly glances around but he picks up on nothing that would help him distinguish this docking bay from the rest of them. Before Luke could give Han a negative reply, Solo gives Skywalker the correct answer. "This is the docking bay that changed both of our lives. It's the same bay that the Falcon was docked in when you and Ben Kenobi asked for transportation off this planet."

Luke slightly swifts his feet so that he could glance back at the Falcon without turning his head. He reminisces about that day. "Yeah. If I recall correctly, I believe I said that the Millennium Falcon was a piece of junk."

"And? What do you think of it now?" Han waited, wondering what type of answer he would receive from Luke.

"Han..." Luke puts his right, mechanical-gloved hand on Han's shoulder and replies back with a grin. "It **STILL** is a piece of junk."

Han decides to leave it at that, even though he thought of that his Falcon was one of the best ships he had ever piloted. Walking away from Luke, he leads the way out of the docking bay. "Well Kid, let's do this."

Even though Luke planned on going back to his old home alone, he was glad that Han would be coming with him. In fact, he was glad that Han had pulled him out of his depressed state. It made Luke feel much better, both physically and mentally. having gained more confidence in this journey, Luke quickly walks to catch up to Han, who had just passed through the doorway of Docking Bay 94. As soon as Luke was walking right beside Han, both of them leave the Docking Bay area and walk into one of the many dust packed streets of Mos Eisley.

* * *

They didn't have to walk far to rent two speeders. Most land speeder rentals were near the docking bays. It was logical and strategic to have a rental business near the docking bays. Lots of money from off-world came from people that landed in the docking bays to travel on Tatooine's surface; and the well-educated and influential wanted to capture as much financial wealth as they could before it left their selfish grasps.

Once all the details were worked out, Luke and Han each climb onto their speeders, switch them on, then ride them out of the "hive of scum and villainy" and towards Luke's old home, the former moisture farm of Owen and Beru Lars. However, it wasn't long before Han wanted something to do while on the way there. Not only would it be fun for him, but it would allow Luke to relieve some of his inner stress by forgetting about their destination.

"Hey Luke." Han raises his voice so that Luke could hear him over the sound of their speeder engines.

"Yeah?" Luke also shouts, making sure Han hears him speak too.

"How about we have a little race? Just a friendly one."

Luke quickly glances over at Han before returning to look in front of him. Suddenly, his sight starts to slowly focus in on the horizon where the gritty, dusty ground met with the smooth blue-tinted sky. Then, Luke feels something that he had not felt since he was still a kid. He felt free. Free from everything. Every duty, every idea, every strategy, every restriction-they left him. All that was left was his actual true character; and it was the one that was buried in ashes when his original life was consumed in flames.

His mind agreed with what he was feeling. "Yeah. Let's have a friendly race. On the count of three..."

Han gets ready to give the speeder all it had. "Alright, on three."

Both of them quickly prepare for the friendly little competition and focus in on the unmarked, barren, desert track that was before them.

Luke starts shouting out the countdown. "One..." Han patiently waits for Luke to say that third number.

"...THREE!" Luke moves the accelerator as far as it would go and quickly pulls away from Han's left side to way out in front of Han's left side!

"Hey!" Han lets the accelerator o as far as it would go as well and tries to catch up to Luke. However, Han had to move slightly to the right to get out of the dust and sand that Luke's speeder had dragged up from the surface of the ground. Once he was out that mess, Han tries to gain any ground he could.

_I can't believe he cheated me out of one second! Although...I did see a smile before he said three, which is encouraging. It means I might be able to get him through his situation without him suffering too much._

* * *

Finally, Han sees a couple of buildings coming into his view. He also sees that Luke's speeder was no longer creating an air-borne dust trail. "He's already there, but I'll not that far behind. good thing this was a friendly race." However, when Han finally reaches Luke's speeder and stops right next to it, he hears the joyous shouts of Skywalker, who had waited beside his speeder for Han.

"Ha! I won. I've got it!"

Han smirks but shakes his head at Luke's little celebration speech. "First off, you either can't count or cheated me out of a second. Second off, I...let you win."

"You did not." Luke says back, confidently. "You tried to catch up with me." Luke gently shoves Han. "Nice try, though."

Since Luke and Han had approach the destination the way they did, they had to walk around one of the main building to get to the front. Every step they took caused the dry dust of the ground to lift off the surface of where they stepped. While stirring dust was behind them, their shadows were in front of them as they finally rounded the corner of the building.

Luke stops short, which also makes Han stop sort, but involuntarily rests right hand on his blaster, which was resting in its holster. "Something feel wrong, Luke?" Luke doesn't acknowledge Han in anyway. Han looks in the direction Luke is staring and finally sees what had made Luke stops in his tracks. After blinking away his shock, Luke slowly walks towards the two stone slates that were near the doorway of the building.

Once he could see the front , board side of the two stone slabs, his assumption about them was proven to be true. They were gravestones. Each of them had writing on them. Luke reads the one on the left first.

Owen Lars

Loving Husband

and

Honest Worker

May He Rest with His Love in Peace

As Luke looks over to read the right gravestone, a single tear leaves from the corner of his right eye, slowly making its way down his cheek. After quickly wiping away the tear with his gloved, right hand, he reads the last tombstone that was in front of him.

Beru Lars

Loving Wife

and

Serene Mediator

May She Rest with Her Love in Peace

Luke puts a hand on each of the gravestones. His leans into them, helping to keep himself from losing his balance. He was about to let his feelings lose when he feels Han's hand on his left shoulder. He looks over his shoulder and looks at Han, which allows Solo to see all of the pain from this event in Luke's life.

Having read the gravestones himself, Han explains out what he was witnessing before him. "Seeing your reaction to his sight, I can figure that you didn't do this yourself." Luke turns his head back and looks down at the stone slabs his hands were resting one, while Han continues to talk to him as a friend.

"Well, whoever did do this...they must have had some sense of humanity. It was a nice thing for them to do."

Han's little speech helped Luke gain some of his strength back. He takes his hands of the gravestones and stands straight, which cued Han to take his hand off Luke's shoulder. Luke looks up from the gravestones.

"I should have done it."

Han gets a puzzled look on his face. "Huh?"

Luke turns around, crosses his arms and addresses Han at point blank range. "I **should** have buried Owen and Beru, but instead, my anger and fear led me away from here and back to Obi-Wan. I never even gave **one** thought of burying them. Not one! How could I have been so ignorant?"

"I have an answer and it's actually a simple one." Han understood why Luke felt so guilt, but he didn't agree with what Luke was doing to himself. "You're human, Luke. We make mistakes naturally. Hell, I know I have made quite a few." Luke raises a eyebrow to question Han silently. "Okay, I've made a lot of mistakes. The point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn't be blaming yourself for just this. First off, you didn't do it and you wouldn't have been able to stop it from happening. Second off, I'm pretty sure they would have understood what you did at the time and that they would be proud of you now."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Luke nods.

"Of course, I'm right." Han walks over to the doorway of the building they were in front of. "Would you give me a tour of your old childhood home?" Han gestures towards the doorway, which makes Luke shakes his head, but not without smiling at Han's attempt to cheer Luke up.

"Why, of course." Luke walks through the open doorway. "If you will follow me, I will give you the gran-" Luke stops after walking a couple of feet inside. Han quickly steps off to Luke's side, wondering what had caused him to freeze in his steps. Once he gets a chance to look around, Han sees...nothing. The whole room was completely empty. The only things that were in the room were Luke, Han and light from Tatooine's two sun, whose rays were shining through the open doorway.

"Well, I knew that nothing would be here, but it's still a shock to see." Luke walks closer towards the middle of the room while Han stays by the door. "Wait..."

Han looks at Luke and he notices that Luke was quickly glancing around the room, as if he was gradually computing something that was of great significance to him.

"Han, what's wrong with this room?"

Han quickly glances the room like Luke had just done, but instead throws his usual answer to unknown questions: sarcasm.

"It's not full of farming equipment?"

"Nope, but..." Luke suddenly runs out of the room by going through another doorway, which led to the other parts of Luke's old home. His voice starts to become more quiet, even though Luke shouts the last part. "...that was a good answer!"

Han groans but knows that Luke would be back soon enough. Besides, Han thought it would be best if Luke was by himself, even if it was for a minute or two.

Sure enough, Luke was back in mere minutes and remembering the question he asked Han, Luke finally gives him the correct answer. "Han, this place is spotless!"

"What are you saying?"

A smile slowly appears as Luke continues explaining the significance of this fact to his friend. "Han, someone's living here! This place was completely in smoke and flames the last time I was here. And, this means that whoever is living here more than likely the one who buried Owen and Beru."

Han is so confused why Luke was getting so excited for this. If anything, he was expecting Luke to be a little bit upset if some stranger had been staying in Luke's old home without his permission. Luke sees Han's bewildered look and explains even more why this was important to him.

"Look, the real reason I came here wasn't to just visit this place. When I was meditating, I started thinking of ways to help fund the Academy and my conscious kept telling me that something might be on Tatooine that would help. I now realize that it's not something that will help the Academy but someone!"

"Luke, look at this place again. There's nothing here. Even if someone was living here, wouldn't there be some things here like food, weapons, clothes or a blanket? Did you find anything when you ran out of this room?"

Luke's smile fades upon hearing this. Han spoke with scrutiny at the whole situation; and his questions made absolute sense. Reality started to set in on Luke and the slightly hope he had in helping out the Academy, and finding the person that buried his aunt and uncle, had been extinguished in just seconds.

Han sees the quiet, depressed Luke starting to resurface. He quickly acts upon seeing this. "Look, we could ask around in Mos Eisley and see if anybody knows anything."

"Nah. There's no point in doing that. Whoever was living here obviously didn't want any attention drawn to themselves and kept a low profile, meaning that they would be near impossible to find, if they are still on Tatooine, that is."

"Well..." Han suddenly remember that Luke had abilities he would never possess. "Maybe you can use your Jedi tricks you've learned to find out who lived here and sense them through the Force."

Luke shakes his head slowly. "I wish I could, but I can't sense anything. Usually, I can sense anything that is out of place, but here, I can't feel anything."

Han wanted to give another option, suggestion, anything that would help Luke find whoever it was that had lived here, but all he could do was wait in silence until Luke made whatever move he wanted to do.

Glancing around the room once last time, Luke walks towards the doorway to Tatooine's harsh land once more. "Let's head back to the Falcon."

Han lets out a saddened sigh as he follow Luke back to the speeder that they had parked at the back of the building.

_Man. I can't believe it. I get Luke to be his old self, then one bad realization sent him directly back to being closed-off. If we weren't heading directly back to the Falcon, I would ask around Mos Eisley for him. Maybe...maybe if I can "delay" this trip a bit, I could ask around and hopefully get any little information about the stranger that lived at Luke's old home. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Hopefully, Luke's not reading my thoughts right now. I never know if he reads my mind or just knows me too well._

Having settled it in his mind, Han gets on his speeder, just as Luke turns his speeder on. Han copies him and soon, both of them are making the trip back to Mos Eisley, one leaving the same way he came, the other one leaving with one more plan to help his friend.


	3. The Stranger

The Stranger

Even though the trip to the desolate moisture farm takes the same amount of time to get there as it does to get back to Mos Eisley, it seemed that time was plodding along for Luke. For Han, time seemed to go faster than the speed of light itself.

Luke felt like he was in a deep, dank pit, in terms of emotions. Not only was he reminded visually about his lost family, but he also believed, from Han's observational conclusion, that whoever was kind enough to bury his aunt and uncle was someone that would be near impossible to find, especially since Luke could not pick out the individual in the living Force. Luke felt that he had lead himself astray. What he had reasoned to be an opportunity on Tatooine was a journey back to nothing but his long lost, emotionally draining past. Within the depths of his conscious, Luke sets, for himself, a restriction. _I said it to Ben once, but I broke it to save Han. Unless the people I care for are in trouble on this world, I will never return to this wretched wasteland of a planet again. _Once Luke makes this promise silently to himself, he refocuses on the horizon, waiting for the first sight of the buildings on the outskirts of Mos Eisley.

Han felt awful, not for himself but for Luke. _Hopefully, Chewie and I can buy some time so that I can get information about who might have been living at Luke's old home. As Luke would say, "May the Force be with me". _Even though he first didn't believe in the Force, he had seen Luke perform things that were so rare and difficult to do, that he, himself, started to believe in Luke's "hokey religion and one all-powerful force".

Both Luke and Han come out of their thoughts at the same time and see Mos Eisley approaching quickly. Sooner than Han wanted, both of them had returned the speeders back to the vendor and were making their way back over to the docking bays, which were a couple of blocks away. Both of them walk in silence through the afternoon crowd, which consisted mostly of shopkeepers, "servants", and a wide variety of malefactors, smugglers, and dishonest traders. Han kept himself aware of everyone that past or got near him and Luke. However, he wasn't seeing anything unusual and he was glad that he wasn't. Luke was not aware of anyone or anything that his eyes were seeing. He had zoned out, hoping that he would reach the Falcon without having to be reminded just how horrible this world was. He had blocked his senses to the point that he wasn't even feeling anything or anyone as well. The Force was being ignored by Luke; and that was not the best thing to do, especially on a planet such as this.

* * *

On one of the rooftops above, a stranger sat on the edge of a roof, watching different ethnic races of beings travel to and fro on the hard, packed dirt that the street below was composed of. The stranger, who was wearing a black cloak, enjoyed watching people live their lives, even though the stranger saw some of the same people performing the same routine, day after day after day. The stranger puts their right hand up to their forehead and gently rubs it, while thinking. _It must be nice, living a life that is calm and smooth, unless you're me...or a slave. _The stranger takes back the last part they had thought. _Who am I kidding?! At least a slave has a purpose, whether they want to do a task or not. I don't have anything resembling any form of duty. Even though I would love to carry out my dream, I just have to face the fact that I won't be accepted, not after what has happened to this galaxy. _

The stranger continues to survey the street below, passing the day by like any other. It would have been another dull, pointless day for the stranger, but the stranger's attention gets pulled towards two individuals who were coming up the street from the stranger's right. The stranger quickly rolls over backwards and hides behind the edge of the rooftop, before peeking back over the side to confirm if the two individuals the stranger saw were really who they were. Mixed emotions travel though the stranger's body when their sight is proven true. Below on the streets were the two individuals known as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.

The stranger, wanting to curve their curiosity, goes over to the side of the building and jumps from the rooftop, landing feet first onto the trashy, shadowed alley. The stranger mumbles, while passing some of the regular beggars, who had laid claim on this alley.

"I can't believe that Luke Skywalker is here, on Tatooine. I can believe that Solo is here, but Skywalker? Why? Why would he come here?" The stranger leans on the wall once the stranger can see out of the alley and onto the main street. Watching from inside their hood, the stranger eyes Solo and Skywalker as both of them saunter towards the docking bays.

"They must be heading for the docking bays." The stranger feels confused. Their body was telling them to stay hidden and out of sight of the smuggler and the Jedi. The stranger's mind, though, was silently urging them to follow and catch up with both Skywalker and Solo and ask Skywalker if they could come with him and pursue their dream. This conflict within the stranger only lasted a couple of seconds. Their body wins the fight. It was only logical that it would, since the stranger had been living hidden from everyone, especially the Rebellion and any known Jedi, for roughly six years.

"What's the point in even asking? I know how they will respond to someone like me, anyways." The stranger was about to turn back into the dirty alleyway, when their eyes caught sight of a glare from across the street and above on a rooftop. The glare had come off a sniper rifle and the gunner was adjusting his scope and aiming for someone in the crowd. The stranger quickly traces the pathway where the sniper would be firing. Their eyes fall upon a group of two people, Solo and Skywalker. The stranger's eyes widen as another conflict arose from within, whether they should stop the sniper or run and push both Solo and Skywalker out of the way.

In a split second, the stranger sets their sights on both Solo and Skywalker, instead of trying to climb onto the rooftop to stop the sniper. Running out of the alley and onto the streets, the stranger swerves and dodges around everyone. The bottom of the stranger's robe flaps behind them, but the hood manages to stay on the stranger's head, concealing their face from everyone.

* * *

The sniper, after adjusting the scope on the rifle, repositions himself and peers into the scope and looks for his personal target. He wanted him to pay for what he had done to him; and he figured that taking his life from his target was a fair price to pay. However, he wanted his target to feel some pain before death would claim him.

_I want you to suffer before you die. I consider it interest on the payment that I'll receive once you're gone from this world. _

The sniper scans through his scope and soon spots his target. He also sees that he also has a friend walking right beside him; and the sniper knew exactly who it was. This made the sniper's set plan pointless to carry out. No. He was not going to back out of this opportunity. Instead, he would shoot his friend in the heart, which would kill him immediately. Then, he would reset his sights on his target and shoot him in the abdomen, which would cause him an immense amount of pain until he died from the wound. Moving the rifle slightly over to the right, the sniper moves his sights over his new target and follows with him until he was complete certain that his shot would be accurate and deadly.

* * *

The stranger was almost an arm's length away from both Solo and Skywalker. There was no backing out now for the stranger. As soon as they would push Solo and Skywalker out of the sniper's shot, the stranger would quickly rush from them and, hopefully, reach the rooftop that the sniper was on and take him down, before he could pull another attempt at a shot. Outstretching both arms, the stranger places a hand on Solo's and Skywalker's back; and then, the stranger successfully manages to push both of them to the ground. Before the stranger could perform the next part of the plan, the stranger feels a growing sensation near their lower right abdomen. Suddenly, that sensation quickly gets translated by their body as pain. The stranger loses their ability to stand and crumbles onto the dusty street, unable to rise back up from the ground. Darkness appears on the edges of the stranger's vision as they look over at Solo and Skywalker, who were gathering themselves up from the ground. As the darkness fills the stranger's sight, all energy that the stranger possessed just moments before had quickly dissolved from them. The stranger falls unconscious, unaware of the events that were continuing on around them.

* * *

The sniper eyes widen at the event he had just caused. He was both shocked and angered at what had occurred. His shot had missed his first target and hit someone who had pushed both of his targets out of his scope's sight. Not only did he miss his original targets, the person who had gotten in the way of his shot was not hit anywhere near the heart. Instead, his shot hit the stranger in the lower right abdomen and, judging by the sight on the street below him, the sniper knew that the stranger was more than likely unconscious. He quickly glances around and sees that everyone on the streets was dashing all over the place, trying to desperately to get into any building that was open or run in any direction so that they would not be a target of the mysterious sniper. This event was a different opportunity for the sniper: a sure chance of him disappearing away from everyone who would want to find him. He took the opportunity, reluctantly, and left from the scene of his attempted revenge.

* * *

Han and Luke push themselves up and back onto their feet at the same time. Han then draws his DL-44 heavy blaster pistol from his holster. Looking around at the chaos in the streets, he asks Luke if he is fine.

"You okay?"

Luke looks around with Han as well. "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly, Luke sees someone who was lying on the street through the fear-fueled crowd, who were just missing the person lying on the street. Luke runs over to see if the person is hurt and Han follows right behind him, while scanning around for anyone who could have taken that shot. Once Luke reaches the stranger on the ground, he gets on his knees and very gently and carefully rolls the stranger over on their back. Han stays standing and continues to monitor the surroundings around him and Luke.

The stranger's hood was still covering their face, but the lower part of their robes were open from the stomach and down, revealing not only the wound in the stranger's lower right abdomen, but also showing Luke that this stranger had not one, but two lightsabers on their belt.

_Lightsabers? Could this person be..._ Luke slowly lifts the unconscious stranger from the ground, just enough to puts his arms underneath the stranger. Luke gently carries the stranger while rising from the ground. "Let's get back to the Falcon, fast."

Han turns around to see Luke carrying the stranger, who was lying on the ground a couple of seconds ago. "We're taking him with us?"

"We have to." Han was about to ask why, but he gets cut off by Luke. "I'll explain everything once we're back at the Praxeum."

"...alright. Let's go." Han keeps his blaster, in his right hand, ready and walks alongside Luke, as they both quickly make their way back to Docking Bay 94, with the injured stranger.

Luke is first into the Falcon. He spots the nearest bench and carefully lays the stranger down. Han quickly glances at Luke before making his way to the controls. Chewbacca had heard footsteps and assumed that Han and Luke had returned. His assumption was shown to be correct as Han walked through the doorway and sat in his usual spot.

"Start up the systems, Chewie. We're heading back to the Praxeum, immediately."

While Chewie switches everything on that needed to be running, he asks Han if something was wrong. Han answers his co-pilot as he takes the controls and makes the Falcon lift off from the ground.

"Yeah, Chewie. In fact, a lot of things went in ways that could have went better." Once Han had entered lightspeed, he tells Chewbacca everything that had happened while he and Luke were on Tatooine. While Han was talking to Chewie, Luke was talking...to himself. He was trying to piece together what had exactly happened on the street back in Mos Eisley.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He calls himself, as he paces back and forth in the section of the Falcon where he had laid the stranger down. "I should have been paying attention. I know better than to let my guard down, especially in a place like Mos Eisley." Suddenly stopping his pacing, Luke takes a deep breath then slowly lets it out, which eased the tension that he had within him.

Remembering who he had brought aboard the Falcon, he walks over to the stranger and sits right next to where their head was. The hood was still doing its job well, covering the face just so no one could see into it. Luke could have easily pulled the hood back to reveal the stranger's face, but that thought had not entered his mind. He was more stunned that this stranger had been carrying two lightsabers. Luke sees the lightsabers on the stranger's belt. He uses the Force to call them to him, which works successfully. He takes both of them up in his hands and takes a closer look at them.

Both hilts had the same design. The ends were black, as if it those pieces were forged from the deepest, darkest parts of space. The middle of the hilts had both deep black with bright white sections. The buttons, which switched the lightsabers on, were red. They were located halfway on the hilt, on a silver ring.

Luke looks from the lightsabers, to the stranger lying beside him, and back at the lightsabers. He sighs to himself. "Maybe this person...was the opportunity that I was urged to find. It would be very coincidental if this person wasn't. The sooner we get back to the Praxeum, the better." Though Luke thought getting back quickly would help both the stranger and maybe the New Jedi Order, he had no idea who the stranger truly was. Once the Falcon would land on Yavin 4, the stranger would no longer be able to hide the truth that they had concealing from others, for so long.

* * *

**Chapter done! YEAH! Kinda short but hey, a lot of stuff happened. Want all of you guys to take it all in. Do you know who the sniper was or who the stranger could be (the stranger will be hard to guess for a reason I will not give away lol). If you want to know what the stranger's lightsabers look like, here is the link: . /_ **

**Be sure to leave some love. Love=Review, Follow, Favorite or All three! Thanks for reading this chapter! ~TheJediAvenger~**


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